Donald Ludwig, Ray Hilborn, and Carl Walters

According to zoologists Donald Ludwig, Ray Hilborn, and Carl Walters, sustainable resource exploitation is unlikely. In the following viewpoint, the authors argue that the concept of “maximum sustained yield” (maximum sustained use of resources) is not feasible, largely because resources are inevitably overexploited. The authors include as causes of this phenomenon human prospects for wealth and a lack of scientific understanding. They believe that biological and political systems preclude optimum management of resources and that resource problems are human problems, not environmental problems. Ludwig and Walters are with the University of British Columbia Department of Zoology in Vancouver, Canada. Hilborn is at the University of Washington School of Fisheries in Seattle.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. According to the authors, why is science incapable of predicting...